Chances at a premiumI don't think we really clicked into gear until the 2nd half, They could have had 2 goals in...
Goal flurry may not save Anfield careers
Apr 5 2006
By Len Capeling, Daily Post
ONE of the major plus-points for Liverpool this season is their refusal to let the occasional setback throw them into turmoil.
That reflects well on Rafael Benitez who seems instantly able to wipe bad memories from his players' psyche while keeping them focused on challenges ahead.
The defeat by Benfica could have proved a crippling blow given the huge amount of anticipation engendered by Liverpool's triumph in Istanbul.
Everyone buttociated with the club had seen winning another European Cup as panacea for another season of Premiership disappointment.
So the loss was a grievous one. But you wouldn't think so looking at results since.
Not only have Liverpool strung together a series of impressive victories, they have also started scoring goals - 20 in their last five games with surely more to follow.
There is also a greater flow about in Liverpool's play and even a hint from the eternally-maligned Djibril Cisse that ugly ducklings can become swans.
We're all playing for our Anfield futuresWe're all playing for our Anfield futures Apr 6 2006 By Ian Doyle Daily Post Staff FERNANDO MORIENTES believes Liverpool's entire strikeforce are playing for their futures under Rafael Benitez. The Anfield manager...
Which doesn't mean that the demanding Benitez won't shortly begin a complete makeover of his strike-force. Merely that he has three forwards who must impress between now and the end of a campaign that will see Liverpool finish a tolerable third.
Cisse remains the most threatened of the species. Against West Brom he fulfilled the role he was bought for: using his electric pace to unpick opposing defences, and scoring goals instead of putting spectators at risk.
His run to create the opener for Robbie Fowler was superb while his own strike, when he beat defender and goalkeeper at speed ahead of a cool finish, indicated the kind of composure that persuaded Gerard Houllier to gamble £14million on him.
What Benitez now requires from the France international is seven more performances of equal merit to save his ill-starred Anfield career. But with the stakes likely to be higher for Liverpool come August, you'd still expect Djibril to be on his way, along with Fernando Morientes.
Robbie Fowler may survive for another season, but don't bet on it.
His goal at The Hawthorns took him to 173 for the club, which will delight a him. Robbie paid due tribute to Kenny Dalgish, whose tally of 172 he'd overtaken, describing the superlative Scot as a proper soccer legend.
Fowler needs to draw inspiration from a goal that reinforced Liverpool's good run. Like Cisse, he still has much to do to gain an extension.
I admired the old Robbie Fowler - no-one made goalscoring look simpler - but I have doubts, though I'll be happy if I m wrong.
Benitez, for one, will put sympathy aside when he considers the pluses and minuses his forwards.
If Cisse seems doomed, then so too does Morientes, who only fleet-ingly resembles the man who figured in four Champions League finals for Real Madrid.
Occasionally, he shows a bit of magic. At rare moments, you glimpse the sure touch of a thoroughbred. But the Premiership is foreign territory to him and sentiment won't save him.
The thing which might reprieve one of the three is the fact that Benitez must have cover for the two strikers he plans to bring in.
Crouch will survive despite being an enigma even to his own supporters. His work-rate, boyish enthusiam, bravery and willing-ness to learn should keep him with Liverpool for some time to come.
Even now, someone at Melwood is probably working on his heading technique, which continues to be off when compared to the natural aerial ability of someone like Luis Garcia, who isn't anywhere near 6ft7in.
Find the time to compile your wish list, beginning with Shevchenko, van Nistelrooy, Owen, Defoe or, at a pinch, Andy Johnson.
VLAD the Impaler, otherwise known as Vladimir Romanov, wants another Yes-Man to manage Heart of Midlothian.
Duties won't include picking the team nor buying players, but will involve a great deal of subservience to Vlad, Hearts owner.
Bertie McVogts, lately Scotland destroyer, hungers for the job. But don't expect endorsements from David Weir or Alex Young.
* THE FA would be foolish (when are they not) to charge Paul Jewell.
His opinion that Phil Dowd is not a good referee is fair comment, as anyone who attended the Anfield derby - 11 bookings, two sendings-off - will testify.
